Machine for treating flax and the like



Feb. 11, 1941. K, wl-:ssEL V 2,231,040. 'MACHINE Fon 'rREA'rmcr FLAI; Aun THE 'LIKE Filed Aug.. 5, 19394 5 Sheets-Sheet l1 o o I o o Jr o o Q o o o o 2:1' o o 0 o 2:3 o o Q :y o m J Q /nQe/nzor 5 Sheefcs-Shegt 2 K. WESSEL Filed Aug'. 5. 1959 'MACHI'NEZFOR TREATING FLAX AND THE LIKE *Femm 1941;

Fel-. v.11, 1.941'. Y K, VESSEL-vl MACHINE FOR TREATING FLAX AND THE LIKE Filed Aug. 5,v 1939 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 15 r9 7 wlmi? Feb..11, 1941. wEssEL MACHINE FoR TREATING 1mm AND THE LIKE- `Filed-Aug. 5,1959 5 sheets-sheet 4 eland a. Va/4er 4 Feb. 11,` 1941. K wEssl-:L

l MACHINE FOR TREATING FLAX AND THE LIKE Filed Aug. 5, 1959 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Patented Feb. 1l., 1.941

Karl Wessel, deceased, late of Los Angeles, Calif., by Leland 0. Walker, administrator, Los An. geles, Calif., assignor of one-fourth to Charles S. Kirkpatrick, Bloomington, l]1.,'and threei'ourths to American Fiber Corporation, a cor- Y poration of Nevada Application August 5, 1939, serial No. 288,644 t s claims. (ci. isi-5) vThis invention relates to the machines for the treatment of ilber bearing strawor stocks, and

-while especially designed for the treatment of flaxl and hemp straw as it comes from the field.` is, nevertheless, capable of a wider range of uses. V

The machine involves elements adapting it to take the straw as it comes from the field, perform the various operations necessary to convert l0 the ber into clear iiber capable of being used l 2 novel devices, combination of devices and arrangement of parts hereinafter described and dened in the claims.

The machine, in what is at present believed to be its preferred form, isillustrated in the accompanying drawings wherein like characters indicate like parts throughout the several views.

Because of the very great length of the complete machine it has been necessary to make the patent drawings thereof in sections. These sections are arbitrary and'made of such length that each section will properly go on a single sheet c;

patent drawings.

Referring to the drawings:

Figs. 1, 1a and 1b are side elevations with certain parts conventionally or diagrammat' :ally

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the first section or part of the machine;

Fig. 1a is a side elevation of the second section or part ofthe machine; and

` Fig. lbis a side elevation of the third or last section of the machine;

Fig. 2 is a plan viewof the parts shown in 5 Fig.- 1 with the feeding mechanism of the machine omitted; v Y Figi. 2a is a'plan-view ofthe parts shown in Fig. la; I

i Fig. 2b is a plan view of the parts shown in Fig. 1b with the single breaking drum and certain other cooperating devices not shown;v

Figs.` 3, 3a andv 3b are verticalv longitudinal -Hsections taken through the machine;

Fig. 3a'is a section taken through the Vparts shown in Figs. 1a and 2a; and

Fig. 3b is a section taken through the parts shown in Figs. 1b and 2b.

Here it may be stated that in Figs. 2a and 2b 5 certain parts such as upper casings and fans are omitted to better show the drum and roller structures. l.

The framework for the complete machine is a preferably continuous rigidly connected or inl0 tegral structure, but for the purpose of this case the rst frame sectionis here` indicated bythe numeral I0, the frame for the second section'is indicated by lila and the frame section for the third isv indicated by IIJb. 15

The ilax as it comes from the field or otherwise prepared may be delivered to the machine proper in various different sizes, but for that purpose is shown a power driven elevated belt Il which delivers the straw to a power driven 20 toothed picker drum I2F in the direction indicated by the arrow on Fig. 3, and works over a concave hopper I3 that delivers the straw between cooperating upper and lower power driven rollers I4 From the rollers Ill -the straw will be driven on to an endless tooth equipped spreader belt I5 that runs over power driven sprockets I6 journaled on the frame Illa. Belt I5 is driven in the direction of the arrow marked in Figs. 1 and 3. 80

The straw, indicated by y in Figs. 1 and 3 in the arrangement shown, is carried under rotary gravity held rollers I'I which latter feature, however, constitutes no important part of the invention. 35

The belt I5 delivers the thin sheet of spread out straw. y between `a multiplicity of corrugated lower rollers Id and corrugated upper rollers I9, which rollers are driven in the direction of the arrow marked on Fig. 3 and progressively feed do the stock in a direction from left toward the right in respect to Figs. 1 and 3.

In practice the upper rollers I9 will preferably, be downwardly spring pressed by means such as that illustrated in Fig. 14' of the Karl Wessel prior Patent No. 1,592,317. The rollers IS-IQ have corrugations that, in a direction from left toward the right, are progressively liner and ner, so that they will progressively shorten the lkinks in the stnatw and reduce the woody portions to ner and ner form. For example, thev iirst rollers I8-I9 may have sixteen corrugations and the last roller may have as much as fifty-six corrugations. j e

The corrugated rollers IB-Ioperate as decor- Journaled to the 4frame section Illa and driven y in the direction of the arrows marked thereon in Fig. 3a are toothed scutching drums or cylinders 2|. Some, or if desired all, of the concaves 23 will be perforated so that the ner shives and' seeds will be dropped therethrough. At the junction of the concaves 23, there are rigidly supported toothed grate sections 22, the teeth of which cooperate with the teeth of the drums 2|, produce a scutching or whipping action and further removes the broken sheaves from the ber.

The drums 2| are shown as covered by hoods 23. The said drums driven in the direction of Figs. 3a,- to wit; in a counter-clockwise direction, will tend to carry upward some of the seeds, sheaves and ber; and to prevent this, fans or blowers are applied at the junction of the hoods 23 and arranged to produce a downward' blast that prevents the said carrying out action and forces the light materials from the one drum to the next following drum. These fans or blowers involve casings 24 that are open at'25v for the discharge of the downward blast of the fans.

Working in each fan casing 24 is a blade equipped fan head 26 that will be driven in a counter-clockwise direction in respect to Fig. 3a by any suitable means.

The drums or cylinders 2| are carried by shafts 21 journaled in suitable bearings on the frame |3a. These shafts and their drums maybe driven in the direction indicated byany suitable power actuated connections. The last concave 23 leads to a discharge spout or trough 28 that delivers to a toothpicker drum or roller 29 that works over a concave 33. Concave 30 is fixed to the frame section |b, and the picker drum 28 is carried by a shaft 3| iournaled in suitable bearings on the frame section Illb and driven in a counter-clockwise direction in respect to Fig. 3b.

The rollers 32 and 33 are corrugated and are driven' in the.direction as indicated by arrows marked thereon in Fig. 3b so that the ber stock will be advanced between the upper and lower rollers. Preferably the upper rollers 33 will be downwardly spring pressed by same means as referred to in respect to the upper rollers.

The corrugations of these rollers 32 and 33 `will preferably be aboutk the same as last rollers |3 and I9 or as illustrated will each have about approximately fty-six corrugations so that they will soften u p and render finer all the sheaves still adhering to the ber. The last rollers 32 land 33 deliver to xed concave 34 over which works a toothed picker drum 35 carried by shaft 36 journaled in suitable bearings on the frame lob. Shaft 36 and drum 35 willbe rotated in the direction of the arrow shown in Fig. 3b, to wit; in a counter-clockwise direction.

By the rotation of drum 35 the ber will be combed or straightened and delivered to a vibrating shaker rack 31, carried by a rock shaft 33 mounted in suitable bearings on the frame Illb and arranged to be vibrated vertically. The vertical vibration of rack or shaker 31 may be produced in various ways, but, as shown, shaft 38 is provided with an upstandlng arm 33 which, by

connecting rod 40, is connected to a power driven wardly opening air discharge port 44.

By a suitable endless conveyer 45 the ber will then be delivered to a set of power driven lower corrugated, nishing rollers 46 and upper corrugated rollers 41, which rollers deliver in the direction marked by arrows in Fig. 3b.

The last of rollers 43-41 deliver the ber to a breaker drum or cylinder 43 carried by a shaft 49 journaled in suitable bearings on the frame |3b. This drum 43 is driven in the direction of the arrow markedthereon in. Fig. 3b, to wit; in a clockwise direction and cooperated therewith withv rollers 53 journaled in the crown-like extension of the frame |||b and arranged to press the ber against the surface of said-drum 43. The surfaces of the drum 43 and rollers 53 are preferably so nely corrugated that the corrugations do not well appear on the drawings. However, in some cases the surfaces of said drum and .rollers may be substantially smooth or slightly roughened by sanding. The said elements 48 and 60 operate on the stock to press the ber and loosen therefrom any ne fragments of shive or Wood particles that may adhere thereto.

- From the drum 43 the ber is delivered to a xed concave over which works a picker drum 62 4carried by a power driven shaft 33 journaled in suitable bearings on the frame IUb. This pickery drum and its shaft are driven in the di` rection of the arrow marked thereon, to Wit; in a counter-clockwise direction and at such speed that the ber will be discharged through a spout 54 and preferably delivered to'a baling machine indicated as an entirety by the character 55.

Insofar as this invention is concerned, the various rotary parts of the machine may be driven by any suitable means. In fact, the various drums and rollers might be individually driven by electric motors or the like or by various gear and belt drives. In the drawings, the conventional gear and belt drives are suggestively indicated, but as these drives constitute per se no part of the present invention, the elements thereof are not specically described or marked with the identifying characters. The only thing irnportant about the driving mechanism is that the several rotary drums and rollers and the like be driven inthe direction of the arrows marked on the drawings. Summary of operation The ber as it comes froml the eld or in similar condition will, by the means already described, be delivered on to the rack-like spreader belt I5 and by the latter will be spread out in an even sheet and delivered to the rst breaking rollers |3|9. Moreover, the conveyer belt |5 will be Asubjected to more or less vibrating which will cause the seeds,.if any, to be shaken through and dropped from the ber. By the progressive action of th'e corrugated rollers |3|9, which as already described have corrugations of progressively increasing neness, the woods portionor shives will be broken progressively into shorter and shorter lengths. Some of the shives will be dropped from between the said breaking rollerafm'l The fiber thus initially treated will be delivered to the first scutching drum or cylinder 2| and by the latter will be carried over the upper surfacevconcave 20 and will thereby be subjected to a scutching or carding action which tends to straighten out the ber and to remove the shives therefrom. The stripping action is accelerated as the iiber is, by the successive scutching drums or cylinders 2l, carried past the several tooth grates 22. These actions are repeated over and over again as the fiber is treated bythe several scutching drums and concaves. concaves, and especially those near the delivery part of the series will be perforated for the discharge of seed and more or less of the loosened shives.

The 'manner in which the material is blown downward by the fans or blowers 24--26 as the lber is delivered from the one scutching drum to the other has already been described and, lof course, is highly important in that it insures against carrying upward and over of the iiber by the said drums rotated in the counter-clockwise directionin respect to Fig. 3a. The casings 24 of the fans or blowers have the customary axial intake ports for the free Supply of air, such as usually provided in fans of thecharacter illustrated.

From the last scutching drum or 'cylinder 2l the fiber will be delivered to .the tooth picking drum 29 and by the latter will be further scutched and scraped and then delivered between the first corrugated softening rollers 32--33 and by these rollers the shives or woody portion of the ii'ber will be further reduced and loosened from the fiber causing dropping of further portions of the shives.

From the last rollers 32-33 the fiber is delivered to tooth picking drum or cylinder 35 and by the latter will be carried against the concave 3d. By the toothed drum 35 further shives will be scraped from the ber and the fiber willbe delivered to the vibrating rack or shaker 31. By the air blast from fan 42-53 the fiber will be delivered from the concave 34 on to the shaker 31. The air blast from fan or blower l2-63 blows the fiber downward on to .the said shaker and blows the liber on to the conveyer 45 while the loosened shives will, by the vibration of the shaker, be dropped from the shaker. By the conveyer 45 the iiber, then very well cleared of the shives or woody portions, will be subjected to the finishing rollers 46-41 and by the last of said rollers i6- tl will be delivered to the breaking drum d8 and by the latter.will be carried under the pressing rollers 50. The pressing rollers 50 are preferably frictionally driven by the rotation ci the drum 48 and by this action the roller is flattened down and straightened out. From the drum t8 the liber is delivered to concave 5i and subject to tooth picker drum 52 which delivers the fan from the machine, or, preferably and as illustrated, to baling machines 55, which latter may be of any suitable or conventional construction.

What is claimed is:

1. In a machine of the kind described,the combination with a plurality of toothed drums and cooperating concaves, of a fan located above said toothed drums and positioned to discharge a blast of air downwardly between the adjacent ,tooth surfaces of said drums, a plurality of corrugated breaking rollers operative on the iiber and delivering the same .to the first of said concaves,

Some of the4 the second set of corrugated breaking rollers operative on the ber delivered from said concaves and cooperating tooth drums, and a cooperating tooth drum and concave receiving from said second series of breaking rollers.

2. The structure defined in claim 1 in further combination with a vibratory shaker receiving from the last noted tooth drum and concave.

3. The structure deiined in claim 1 in further combination with a Avibratory shaker receiving from the last noted tooth drum and concave. a fan positioned to deliver a blast of air on to the iiber delivered to said shaker from said last noted toothed drum.

4. 'I'lie structure dened in claim 1 in further combination with a vibratory shaker receiving from the last noted tooth'drum and concave, a fan positioned to deliver a blast of air on to the ber delivered to said shaker-from said last noted toothed drum, a third series of breaking rollers operating on the liber delivered from said shaker, and a breaking drum and cooperating presser roller operative on the fiber delivered from said third series of breaking rollers.

. 5. 'I'he structure defined in claim 1 in further combination with a vibratory shaker receiving from the last noted Itooth drum and concave, a fan positioned to deliver a blast of air on to the iiber delivered to said shaker from said last noted toothed drum, a third series of breaking rollers operating on the liber delivered from said shaker, and a breaking drum and cooperating presser Vroller operative on the liber delivered from said third series of breaking rollers, and a tooth picking drum land cooperating concave operating on the iiber delivered from said last noted drum.

6. In a machine of the kind described, the combination with a plurality of toothed drums and cooperatingiconcaves and breaking rollers delivered thereto, of an endless open mesh spreading conveyer operative to deliver the fiber to said breaking rollers, a plurality of toothed drumsv and cooperating concaves operative on the stock delivered fromsaid breaking rollers, a second set of breaking rollers operative on the iiber delivered from the last of said toothed drums, a toothed drum and cooperating concave operative on the iiber delivered from said second set of breaking rollers, a shaker operative on the stockdelivered from said last noted drum and concave, a third set of breaking rollers operative on the stock debreaking rollers operative on the fiber delivered from the last of said toothed drums, a toothed drum and cooperating concave operative on the ii-ber delivered from said second set of breaking rollers, a shaker operative on the stock delivered from said last noted drum and concave, a third -set of breaking rollers operative on the stock delivered from said shaker, and a breaking drum and cooperating presser rollers operative on the fiber delivered from said third set of rollers.

8. In a machine of the kind described, the cornblnation with a plurality of toothed drums and cooperating concaves and breaking rollers delivering thereto, of an endless open mesh spreading 4 conveyer operative to deliver the ber to said breaking rollers, a plurality of toothed drums and cooperating concaves operative on the stock vdelivered from said breaking rollers, a second set of breaking rollers operative on the ber. delivered from the last of' said toothed drums, a toothed drum and cooperating concave operative on the ber delivered from said second set of conveyer operative to deliver the `ber to said .breaking rollers, a plurality of toothed drums and cooperating concaves operative on the stock delivered from said breaking rollers, a second set of breaking rollers operative on the ber delivered from the last of said toothed drums, a toothed drum 'and cooperating concave operative on the fiber delivered from said second set of `breaking rollers, a shaker operative on the stock delivered from said last noted drum and concave, a third set of breaking rollers operative on the stockdelivered from said shaker, a breaking drum and cooperating presser rollers operative on the fiber delivered from said third set of rollers, a baling machine receiving the stock delivered from said breakingdrum last noted, and a tooth picking drum and cooperating concave interposed between said breaking drum last noted and said balingfdevice and assuring the delivery of the fiber .to said baling machine.

LELAND ol WALKER, 20

Administrator of 'the Estate of Karl Wessel, De-

ceased. 

